The Kalingans also led an army to the warfield The small army of Kalinga was not a match for Ashoka's mighty army. Though the Kalingan army fought hard, soon the whole Kalingan army had collapsed. There were more than lakh of people captured and 100,000 deaths on both sides. Brahmins and monks also died. The battlefield was bloody with dead or injured soldiers, crying orphans and widows.

Although he won the war, Ashoka realized the futility of war. He saw the bloodshed and suffering of the soldiers' families. He vowed never to fight again. He converted to Buddhism and he dedicated his later life to help his subjects. He left the conquest after winning a war. He wrote inscription for wanting that his son and grandson also never think about war